Free Music: "Ear To The Ground: Nashville"

Nashville has a lot of kick ass bands. LimeWire & The Nashville Scene have joined forces to bring you a free downloadable compilation of some of our best ("Harvest" by How I Became The Bomb, the opening track, is a Lake Fever Production). Click here to get some free goodness from the likes of Cortney Tidwell, Shoot The Mountain, The Privates, Caitlin Rose and many more. Do it! Bless.

mH

This Week In Friend Rock

Some great opportunities to meet your live music listening needs this week:

• First one the docket is Natalie Hemby (click that and go listen to "The Bees"...right now). She has great songs and a killer voice. You don't need anymore reasons. She'll be appearing at Mad Donna's on the east side this Wednesday starting at 6:00 pm.

• Then, this Friday, you should do your ears a favor and make your way down to see Korean is Asian at The Basement. This band is fronted by Brian Ritchey and Jordan Caress. Two great songwriters and singers backed by a really great band. This act falls under the "Joey Sanchez Axiom" that states that any show with Joey sitting behind the kit is sure to satisfy.

That's all there is. Bless.

mH

Eliott Smith Tribute Show @ The Mercy Lounge

I was 18 when Elliott Smith passed away. The idea that no more new Elliott Smith songs will ever get written still bums me out. There's a free tribute show at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville (21+) this Sunday, October 18th. Here's a video some of our town's finest made to promote it:



Be there. Bless.

mH

The Features On Mercy

Look, I like TV. I'm never going to be one of those people that sells their idiot box and talks about how freeing it is. DVR & Hulu have made me as free as the next pretentious anti-fun TV hater out there. With new shows, fall is like dating season for me and TV. I go on a lot and see what sticks. Last night I got around to watching NBC's new medical drama Mercy. You've seen the show before, this one just concentrates more on nurses. The point of this post isn't to talk about the show.

Last night's episode (hilariously titled "Pulling The Goalie") opened with Nashville's own The Features playing in the background (the clip is below)! For 2 and a half minutes, Nashville's best band had a song playing during prime-time on a major TV network. Congratulations guys. The song is "Lions" and it comes from their latest LP Some Kind Of Salvation.

We're gettin' there. Bless.

mH

mH

Let's Talk Elle Macho

Hey friends. It's been a spell since I've blogged and you know what? I've missed it. For my return to the internet wasteland, I'd like to talk about a band that I had high hopes for, wrote off and then fell in love with.

Elle Macho is a relatively new outfit featuring three music vets. Here's the cast:

• David Mead, a Nashville raised singer-songwriter. He did time with Nashville legends Joe, Marc's Brother, before striking out on his own. His 4th long player, Tangerine, was one of my favorites of 2007.
• Butterfly Boucher hails from Australia. Flutterby, her debut album, was a local hit and had a few songs show up on TV shows about doctors who have sex with each other in between saving lives.
• Lindsay Jamieson comes from the United Kingdom. I happen to think he's one of the best drummers in Nashville. He's played with the Sundays, Brendan Benson & Ben Folds.

There is no shortage of talent in this band. Last week saw the release of their first EP Es Potencial. Last year, the band did a tour of Nashville and had the fellas at Tugboat Productions film the whole thing. The videos turned out really well (the first episode is below). I highly encourage you to check this band out. Song previews can be heard here on their myspace page. It's good to be back. Bless.

mH

From My Head To Your iPod: Free Songs!!!

Hey kids! So Jericho Blues has officially been out for a couple months now. My distributor decided to update their system which was much needed, but it also made the album disappear for a couple weeks (my Spanish pals were less than elated).

All that to say, this album is a bit confusing. When I decided to record it, I chose what I felt were the nine best songs in my catalogue at the time, plus one cover. I write in a lot of different styles. When the dust settled Jericho Blues turned out to be an LP made up of from-the-shoulder rock songs and country tunes. I split the album into two sides and have decided to post a few of the songs for you to download, for free, in high-quality audio files that you can use in anyway you so desire (of course the catch is that the website asks for your e-mail address but fingers crossed spamming won't happen).

Click on the links to download the songs:
Paint By Numbers
Tennessee Valentine
Slide Away

If these free samples fill you with the desire to own an entire copy of the album, you can download it at iTunes or pick up a physical copy at CDbaby.

That's all I got. Hope everyone had a great summer. Bless.

mH

Jericho Blues on iTunes & other things

Hey friends! I'm pleased to announce that Jericho Blues is now available for download at Apple's iTunes store (click here to check it out!). If you're wanting a physical copy you can pick one up over at CDbaby.

Another cause for excitement is the matter of press. AbsolutePowerpop has got me blushing with their review of the album. Click here to read it!

Also, in early August I will be appearing on Joe Baine Colvert's We Own This Town radio hour on Nashville's WRVU to promote the album. As details are set in stone, I will post them right here. I do know that you'll need to download RealPlayer to listen to the program outside of Nashville.

Lastly, a few weeks ago I went back into the studio with Jason, John & new recruit Joey Sanchez to do some recording. Jericho Blues was written in '07, recorded in '08 and released in '09. So the songs have been piling up. Here are a few pics from our adventures:

That last one is a very important message from John Baldwin. I hope everyone has been well and that you've been enjoying your summer. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you keep coming back. Bless.

mH